Pom Poms, Jars, and Habits

Do you know what is coming up soon? So many things, but I’m looking forward to warmer days so my kids can play with friends outside. Bring back the playdates!! If you guessed summer? You’d be right. Let me tell you what summer and pom poms have in common.

Stay with me for a second… I’m on a mission to help you get your summer organized and have a routine to make everyone happy. It starts with this post.

Then it will move onto another post each month until we get to summer. You will have about 2-4 weeks to work on one aspect of getting ready for summer. Then a new post will go live and you can add the new things you learn into your exsisting plans.

Ready? Let’s go!

Pom Poms

What do we do with pom poms? Our kids can earn them when they: listen the first time, make good choices, show kindness and love, or when they are being awesome. Once our jar is full than we get to do a family fun activity.

We started out with our three oldest kids each having a glass baby food jar. Once they got theirs filled than they could pick something to do with either Eddy or I. Their top two were to go get an ice cream cone or pick something out at the Dollar Store.

What we found happening was a child that did not earn a pom pom would be rude or disrespectful when another child earned one.This was not what we wanted to have happen. It start to cause probelms.

We wanted all the kids to be excited because someone earned pom poms. We wanted the kids to cheer each other on. This is when we decided to change from indiviual pom poms to a family pom pom jar.

We now have a family pom pom jar that the kids all earn together.

What You Need To Get Started

• jar, cup, vase; anything that will hold pom poms
• pom poms (or any small item that you have on hand to put into the jar)

And that’s it. Easy peasy! I bet you have what you need somewhere in your house. So as soon as you finish reading this; get up and go searching for your jar and small objects to fill the jar with.

Time To Introduce To Your Family

Before you gather your family togther decide what your kids need to do in order to earn pom poms. You can also decide what the family activity will be if you want. It really helps to be on the same page as your significant other before you introduce this to your kiddos.

Once you are on the same page, gather your family together. You can be create when you introduce this new plan to them. Or you can show them the jar and pom poms and explain what the plan is. Making a list of ways your kids can earn a pom pom might help them to remember.

It’s Go Time

Put the jar in a place that can be seen and start noticing the good things your kids do. Get excited when your kids earn a pom pom. You can make it a big deal if you want. We let our kids pick the pom pom they want and put it in the jar. Often times they just want us to put it in.

You will want to “help” your kids to earn their first pom pom jar reward pretty fast. This will help them get excited and keep the momentum going strong.

Why Do This At All?

Do you remember a few months ago I urged you to NOT make new year resolutions? Then a few weeks later I talked about making a habit plan? Now this? Well, they are all related. You want to make these things habits. You want these good things to become automatic in your life and in your kiddo’s lives.

When you have your children working toward a common goal and earn positive rewards, you are helping them to create habits. Don’t we want our children to have great habits of listening well, helping others, and being kind? Just to name a few?

I sure do!

Some positive rewards that we do in our home:

• verbal praise
• talking to Eddy or I about the good things that our kids do with the kids in ear shot so they can hear us talking good about them
• high fives/hugs/dances
• pom poms
• candy
• surprises that they will be excited about (happy meal, not having to do a chore, treat, etc.)
• family activities
• facetime with grandparents or Eddy at work

Positive rewards are a great way to help guide children to behaviors that we want to see. Is it 100% full proof? No. But it will help for sure.

Now that you know how, why, and what you need to get started you will be prepared to have your own pom pom jar reward system set up and ready just in time for summer. This is a great first step to help you and your kiddos to have a geat summer. A summer that has purpose and is organized.

For me, this helps me to have less stress and get more accomplished. When we all know what we need to do it can create less chaos and stress. Stay tuned for next month when I go into loads of detail of daily lists. This one thing has made our house run so much smoother. Get excited!

Xxx, Steph